International agenda
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South-South cooperation, as an important element of international cooperation for development, offers viable opportunities for developing countries and countries with economies in transition in their individual and collective pursuit of sustained economic growth and sustainable development.
Developing countries have the primary responsibility for promoting and implementing South-South cooperation, not as a substitute for but rather as a complement to North-South cooperation, and in this context reiterating the need for the international community to support the efforts of the developing countries to expand South-South cooperation.

On 31 October 2003, the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention against Corruption and designated 9 December as International Anti-Corruption Day, to raise awareness of corruption and of the role of the Convention in combating and preventing it. The Convention entered into force in December 2005.

The United Nations invites governments to observe International Volunteer Day in order to increase awareness about the important contributions of volunteers to the international community. This day provides organisations and individual volunteers not only to volunteer for a good cause but also to promote their contributions to inspire others to take action.

The next parliamentary election to the Croatian Parliament will be held on 4 December 2011. This will be the 7th parliamentary election in Croatia since independence.

Jadranka Kosor is the current prime minister, having taken office on 6 July 2009, following the sudden resignation of her predecessor Ivo Sanader. She is Croatia's first female Prime Minister since independence.

The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery recalls the date of the adoption by the General Assembly of the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (resolution 317(IV) of 2 December 1949).

The conference follows the High Level Forums held in Rome (2003), Paris (2005) and Accra (2008) and will conclude the OECD/DAC-led process on aid effectiveness that was launched by the Paris Declaration in 2005.

The Democratic Republic of Congo will hold its second presidential elections on 28 November 2011.

The government passed laws to abolish the second round of the presidential election, initially scheduled for 26 February 2012, and to change from proportional to majority representation, which has been strongly criticised by the opposition.
Vital Kamerhe is seen as one of the primary challengers to incumbent president Joseph Kabila.

The European Union is to send an election observation mission to monitor the polls. The mission will be deployed six to eight weeks before the elections and will be led by MEP Mariya Nedelcheva.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference, Durban 2011, will bring together representatives of the world's governments, international organisations and civil society. The discussions will seek to advance the implementation of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol, as well as the Bali Action Plan, agreed at COP 13 in 2007, and the Cancun Agreements, reached at COP 16 last December.
The Conference will be hosted by the Government of South Africa and will take place at the International Convention Centre (ICC) & Durban Exhibition Centre (DEC).

Egyptians will vote for the first time since the fall of Hosni Mubarak. The military council ahead of the country since February has decided to do it in stages. Two thirds of the representatives of the lower house (the People’s Assembly), which will be elected on the 28 November, come from closed party lists. The legislative elections will be followed by the composition of the upper house or Shura, which will be elected on 29 January, the drafting of a new constitution and presidential elections.

Civil society and non-governmental organisations have a crucial role to play in society. Therefore, the Eastern Partnership celebrates this forum to support civil society development to strengthen cooperation between civil society organisations of the EU and its partner countries. This is the third annual Eastern Partnership civil society forum and it is expected to have an impact on implementation.

The 2011 New Zealand general election scheduled for Saturday 26 November 2011 will determine membership of the 50th New Zealand Parliament. One hundred and twenty MPs will be elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives to serve 3 year terms.
The Queen is represented by Governor General Anand SATYANAND (since 23 August 2006), who appoints the prime minister, usually the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition.

Early parliamentary elections will be held in Morocco on 25 November 2011, following a national referendum on constitutional reforms to curb the King’s powers on 1 July 2011; the elections were not due to be held until September 2012.

King Mohammed VI proposed the changes to the constitution in June in response to the regular protests demanding political changes in the kingdom.

Presidential elections in The Gambia are scheduled to take place on 24 November 2011. Over 869,000 Gambians have registered to vote.
Gambia’s incumbent president, Yahya Jammeh, who seized power in a coup in July 1994, is seeking a fourth presidential term. Opposition aspirants are Ousainou Darboe of the main opposition party, United Democratic Party (UDP); Halifa Sallah, a sociologist of the National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD); Henry Gomez, a Gambian businessman based in Germany; Hammat Bah, also a local businessman and longtime opposition leader; and Mai Ahmad Fatty, a lawyer currently in exile in the United States.

Spaniards are called to vote for the Government’s next president, the members of the Spanish parliament and the majority of senators. The two big political parties, PSOE and PP, will take part in these elections represented by their candidates Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba and Mariano Rajoy. Other candidates include Cayo Lara (Izquierda Unida), Durán I. Lleida (Covergencia i Unió), Rosa Díez (Unión Progreso y Democracia), Juan López de Uralde (EQUO) y Josu Erkoreka (PNV).

Leaders from all the member countries of APEC will meet at Hawaii, US.

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries (styled "Member Economies") to cooperate on regional trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation. APEC's objective is to enhance economic growth and prosperity in the region and to strengthen the Asia-Pacific community. Members account for approximately 40% of the world's population, approximately 54% of world GDP and about 44% of world trade.

An annual APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, attended by the heads of government of all APEC members, except the Republic of China (Taiwan) which is represented under the name Chinese Taipei by a ministerial-level official. The location of the meeting rotates annually among the member economies, and a famous tradition involves the attending Leaders dressing in a national costume of the host member.

The World Economic Forum organises in Mumbai the India Economic Summit, to discuss how to consolidate India’s economy and sustainability. India’s economic growth rate is expected to surpass 9 percent over the next three years, despite the challenges posed by rising inflation, regulatory hurdles and inadequate infrastructure.

The 2011 Human Development Report “Sustainability and Equity: A Better Future for All” argues that the urgent global challenges of sustainability and equity must be addressed together.
Past Reports have shown that living standards in most countries have been rising - and converging - for several decades now. Yet the 2011 Report projects a disturbing reversal of those trends if environmental deterioration and social inequalities continue to intensify, with the least developed countries diverging downwards from global patterns of progress by 2050.

The EU’s Eastern Partnership intends to reinforce the links between the EU with six former Soviet republics: Ukraine, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Belarus. In order to bring the relations closer, the EU organises a serious of events, from summits to informal meetings. This event is organised under the EU Polish Presidency.

Presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in Nicaragua on 6 November 2011. Although the Constitution forbids re-election, last year the Constitutional Court sentenced that President Ortega could run again. He is likely to face Fabio Gadea, who is collecting support from democratic forces both to the right and to the center-left of national political spectrum.

After the general elections of 11 September, Guatemalans will vote again on a second round to elect their president. The run-off will be disputed between Otto Pérez Molina, from the conservative Patriotic Party (PP), and Manuel Baldizón, of the conservative Renewed Democratic Liberty (LIDER) party. The winner will substitute Álvaro Colom as the head of state.

The first round of elections in Liberia took place on 11 October, where none of the 16 candidates obtained the required 50 per cent plus one of the total votes. The second round will be held on 6 November between Johnson-Sirleaf, who garnered 43.9 per cent of the nearly 1.3 million votes, and runner-up Winston Tubman, who won 32.7 per cent.

The G20 was established in 1999, in the wake of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, to bring together major advanced and emerging economies to stabilize the global financial market. Since its inception, the G20 has held annual Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' Meetings and discussed measures to promote the financial stability of the world and to achieve a sustainable economic growth and development.

To tackle the financial and economic crisis that spread across the globe in 2008, the G20 members were called upon to further strengthen international cooperation. Accordingly, the G20 Summits have been held in Washington in 2008, in London and Pittsburgh in 2009, and in Toronto and Seoul in 2010.

Under the Polish presidency of the EU, the second ministerial conference of the Prague process will take place. The first meeting (organised in April 2009) set the political basis for streamlining the implementation of a global EU approach to migration in the east and southeast. It is expected the endorsement of the Prague Process Action Plan document for the implementation of the 2012–2016 Building Migration Partnerships Joint Declaration.

24 October marks the anniversary of the entry into force of the United Nations Charter, signed in 1945. Every year, this public holiday is celebrated around the world with exhibitions, meetings and panel discussions on the accomplishments of the organisation, as well as an international concert which is held at the General Assembly’s Headquarters in New York.

Argentina will hold national presidential and legislative elections on 23 October 2011. Mercosur parlamentarians will also be popularly elected for the first time.

Also for the first time, on 14 August 2011 open, simultaneous and mandatory primaries will take place to select the candidates of each political party or coalition.

The President and Vice-President will be chosen in a two-round election, unless in the first round a candidate gets 45% of the vote, or 40% of the vote with at least 10% margin over the second placed candidate.

Elections for Tunisia’s Constitutional Assembly are scheduled to take place on 23 October 2011. The elected Assembly will be in charge of drafting a new constitution and paving the way for future legislative and presidential elections. The elections, first set for 24 July 2011, were postponed in order to ensure transparency and to give Tunisians more time to adjust to their new political body.

General elections were also scheduled to be held in 2014 but were brought forward after former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali´s departure from Tunisia in January 2011, as a result of the Tunisian revolution. The current head of state and acting president is Fouad Mebazza and the prime minister is Beji Caid Essebsi.

At the Millennium Summit, world leaders committed themselves to cutting by half by the year 2015 the number of people living in extreme poverty – people whose income is less than one dollar a day.

17 October presents an opportunity to acknowledge the effort and struggle of people living in poverty, a chance for them to make their concerns heard, and a moment to recognise that poor people are the first ones to fight against poverty.

The theme of the observance this year is "From Poverty to Decent Work: Bridging the Gap".

More than half of the world’s population now lives in cities or urban centres. Urban settlements serve as nations’ economic engines, but they can also become generators of new risks: failed infrastructure and services, environmental urban degradation, increasing informal settlements and almost a billion slum dwellers around the world. This makes many urban citizens more vulnerable to natural hazards.

The International Day for Disaster Reduction takes place within the framework of the World Disaster Reduction Campaign 2010–2011. The theme of the Campaign is “Making Cities Resilient: My city is getting ready”.

The 2011 Liberian general election is scheduled to be held on 11 October 2011. The presidency, as well as all seats in the House of Representatives and half of the seats in the Senate, will be up for election. The election will be overseen by the Liberian National Election Commission (NEC).

Parliamentary elections to both the Sejm – the lower house of the Polish parliament – and the Senate will be held in Poland on 9 October 2011. The last election, in 2007, resulted in a Civic Platform–Polish People's Party government. All seats of both houses are up for re-election. Presidential elections are due in 2015.

The Eastern Partnership Summit will be held in Poland on 29 September 2011.

The background:

Under the European Neighbourhood Policy the European Union has created a specific partnership for its eastern neighbours. The development of the Eastern Partnership is in response to the strengthening of the European Neighbourhood Policy to the south of the EU. The EU tightened its links with its southern neighbours through the Barcelona Process, which has since led to the creation of the Union for the Mediterranean. Following the expansion of the EU into Central and Eastern Europe in 2004 and 2007, a need arose to do the same in the east. This led in May 2009 to the creation of the Eastern Partnership.

The upcoming Eastern Partnership Ministerial meeting will provide an opportunity to take stock of the implementation of the Eastern Partnership. It will also allow the EU and the partner countries to discuss the further implementation of the Eastern Partnership with a view to supporting further reforms and strengthening and deepening the relations between the EU and the partner countries on the basis of common values.

The Bahraini government will hold parliamentary elections on 24 September to fill 18 vacant seats previously owned by the opposition, Al Wefaq Bloc. The 18 members of parliament resigned in February 2011 to protest the government´s behavior at the beginning of the political turmoil in Bahrain and their crackdown on protesters.

Municipal elections in Saudi Arabian towns and cities, initially planned for 31 October 2009, are to be held on 22 September 2011.

Governmental authorities stated that the delay was caused by the need to "expand the electorate and study the possibility of allowing women to vote." Women will not be allowed to participate in the upcoming elections.

Latvia’s snap parliamentary elections have been officially set to 17 September. Political parties have until 18 August to submit their election tickets.

The elections are set to take place after nearly 95% of ballots cast in the referendum to dissolve parliament were in favor of new elections. Around 45% of the population participated in the referendum. Under Latvian law, parliament elects the president.

In 1994, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 16 September the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, commemorating the date of the signing, in 1987, of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (resolution 49/114).

Danish 2011 parliamentary elections will take place on 15 September in order to elect the 179 members of the unicameral Parliament (Folketinget).

Lars Løkke Rasmussen is the current prime minister of Denmark and the leader of the centre-right liberal party, Venstre. He succeeded Anders Fogh Rasmussen on 5 April 2009 as prime minister following Anders Fogh Rasmussen's appointment as Secretary General of NATO.

Democracy is a universal value based on the freely expressed will of people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems and their full participation in all aspects of their lives.
The UN General Assembly, in resolution A/62/7 (2007), decided that 15 September of each year should be observed as the International Day of Democracy.

The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the UN system made up of 47 States responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe. The Council was created by the UN General Assembly on 15 March 2006 with the main purpose of addressing situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them.

Legislative and presidential elections are scheduled to take place in Guatemala on 11 September 2011 to elect the president, vice president, 158 deputies to the Congress, 20 representatives for the Central American parliament and 333 mayors for the period 2012-2016.

The International Literacy Day was established by UNESCO in order to remind the international community that illiteracy, especially in adults, is still a relevant issue.

Despite many and varied efforts, literacy remains an elusive target: some 796 million adults lack minimum literacy skills which means that about one in six adults is still not literate; 67.4 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out. The theme for the 2011 International Literacy Day is "Literacy and Peace".

24 October marks the anniversary of the entry into force of the United Nations Charter, signed in 1945. Every year, this public holiday is celebrated around the world with exhibitions, meetings and panel discussions on the accomplishments of the organisation, as well as an international concert which is held at the General Assembly’s Headquarters in New York

Liberia will celebrate a referendum on 23 April to decide on four constitutional amendments, including presidential residency requirements, Supreme Court tenure, election dates and the voting system. The referendum will be supervised by the National Commission of Liberia and requires that all registered voters vote either for or against the changes.

Amendment Descriptions

Amendment to Article 52(c): Reducing presidential residency requirement from 10 to 5 years.
Amendment to Article 72(b): Increasing mandatory retirement age of judges from 70 to 75.
Amendment to Article 83(a): Moving election date to the second Tuesday of November.
Amendment to Article 83(b): Using single-round first-past-the-post voting for all legislative and municipal elections.

The transatlantic slave trade lasted over 400 years, from the late 1400s until its abolition in the 1800s. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) General Conference of 1997 adopted a resolution proclaiming 23 August of each year for its remembrance.

Zambia will hold the 2011 general elections on 20 September following the dissolution of the Cabinet and the National Assembly at the end of July by President Rupiah Banda in line with the country’s constitution.

The President is elected by plurality vote to serve a 5-year term. In the National Assembly, 150 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms and 8 members are appointed by the President to serve 5-year terms.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the 1991 coup d’état attempt in the USSR, also known as the August Putsch or the August coup, which resulted in the removal of President Mikhail Gorbachev from power for 3 days and preceded the fall of the Soviet Union. This date is commemorated across former Soviet states, as it marks the beginning of their sovereignty and independence from the USSR. The attempt took place from the 19 through the 21 of August of 1991 and was led by a group of members of the Soviet Union’s government who opposed Gorbachev´s reform program and union treaty.

The United Nations designated this day as World Humanitarian Day in order to increase awareness about humanitarian assistance worldwide. This day commemorates humanitarian aid workers and their efforts to reach and help the most vulnerable populations in the world.

On 9 July 2011, the autonomous region of Southern Sudan will officially declare its independence from the northern government of Sudan. Issues remain over drawing borders and dividing oil revenues and violence in the region has escalated forcing the displacement of tens of thousands of people. According to the UN, there have been an estimated 1.500 deaths in Southern Sudan since the referendum for independence took place last January.

The Eurogroup is a meeting of the finance ministers from the EU member states that have adopted the Euro as their official currency. The meeting takes place a day before the ECOFIN meeting and focuses on issues relating to the European Monetary Union (EMU). Eurogroup countries are the only states that can vote on Euro-related issues in the ECOFIN.

On 5 July, Venezuela celebrates the bicentennial of its independence. The independence movement reached its climax with the drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence on 5 July 1811, written by John Germain Roscio. This document explained the grounds for declaring the independence of seven Spanish provinces belonging to the then Captain General Venezuela. With this document officially began the Independence War of Venezuela.

Every six months a different member state of the European Union holds the Presidency presiding over the work of the Council of the European Union. At the same time the state holding the Presidency becomes the host of most of the Union's events and plays a key role in all the fields of activity of the European Union. It is responsible for the organization of EU meetings, sets the Union's political direction and ensures its development, integration and security.

King Mohammed VI announced that a referendum on political reform will take place on 1 July. The referendum will introduce a comprehensive package of constitutional amendments, which will include elevating judiciary power and regional councils operating under democratic principles. The committee preparing the amendments will be consulting political parties, youth organizations and intellectuals before reporting draft results. The Islamic party, Justice and Development Party (PJD) has warned to vote against the new constitution if it provides freedom of belief, under the claim that in this action will damage the country´s Islamic identity.

The European Council gathers together the Heads of State or Government of the Member States of the European Union and the President of the Commission.

The European Council meets at least once every six months under the chairmanship of the Head of State or Government of the Member State which holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which rotates twice a year. In practice, the European Council meets at least four times a year, and special European Councils are also organised.

The Summit will be held in Malabo in the Republic of Equatorial Guinea on 23 June through 1 July. The 22nd Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) and the 19th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council will be held during the first days of the summit. The 17th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union has been scheduled from 30 June to 1 July. The theme for this summit will be “Accelerating Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development” and the challenges of activating the role of youth in achieving economic development on the African continent will be discussed. In addition, the charters and treaties of the African Union relating to youth and their application by member states will be reviewed during the summit.

The United Nations’ World Refugee Day is observed on 20 June each year, and began back in December of 2000. This year’s theme is “Real People, Real Needs”. World Refugee Day honors and recognizes the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homeland under threat of persecution, conflict and violence.

Turkey's 17th general election will be held on 12 June 2011. The election features the ruling Justice and Development Party, emboldened by a successful constitutional referendum.

Following the Turkish constitutional referendum, 2010, which the ruling party won, to create reforms as necessitated for Turkey's accession to the EU, AK Party party leaders said they would create a new constitution after the 2011 elections, which were seen as having emboldened the AK Party.

The next EU–Russia Summit will be held in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, on 9-10 June. The European Union will be represented by Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, and by José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission. Summit discussions will focus on the global economy and global governance issues; EU-Russia relations, in particular the EU-Russia Partnership for Modernisation; Russia's World Trade Organisation accession; and the new EU-Russia Agreement currently under negotiation. Other international issues will be discussed as well, including the current developments in the Middle East and North Africa.

The General Assembly is the supreme organ of the Organization of American States and comprises the delegations of all the member states. The mechanisms, policies, actions, and mandates of the Organization are determined by the General Assembly, and its functions are defined in Chapter IX of the OAS Charter.

World Environment Day (WED) was established by the UN General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment.

Commemorated yearly on 5 June, WED is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action. The day's agenda is to:

Give a human face to environmental issues;
Empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development;
Promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues;
Advocate partnership which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.

The second round of Peru's presidential elections will be held on 5 June 2011 in order to choose the constitutional president of the Peruvian republic. Candidates for the presidential runoff are Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, and Ollanta Humala, a retired military officer. Both received the highest scores in the first round of elections; Fujimori won approximately 24% of the votes and Humala 32%.

At the end of March, Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva called for snap general elections to be held on 5 June 2011. This follows Silva’s dissolution of parliament and the resignation of Prime Minister Jose Socrates, whose minority government (the Socialist Party) was unable to secure parliament approval of a fourth round of austerity measures. This has prompted downgrades by rating agencies, has pushed bond yields to new euro-era highs and raises pressure on the country to ask for a bailout from the European Union or the International Monetary Fund.

OPEC's mission is to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of Member Countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers and a fair return on capital to those investing in the petroleum industry.

2011 Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) will take place in Paris from Monday, May 30, to Wednesday, June 1, 2011, and will be hosted by the OECD, the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, the French Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Industry, and the World Bank.

The 2011 ABCDE overall theme is Broadening Opportunities for Development and focus on five broad themes:

Africa Day is celebrated annually and this year’s theme is "Africa and the Diaspora." This day is a commemoration of the founding of the Organization of African Unity, now called the African Union (AU). This celebration provides an opportunity to discuss important issues in the region and to address the most detrimental challenges Africa faces.

The Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC-IV) will take place in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2011.

The purpose of the conference is to assess the results of the 10-year action plan for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) adopted at the Third United Nations Conference on LDCs in Brussels, Belgium, in 2001, and adopt new measures and strategies for the sustainable development of the LDCs into the next decade.

World Press Freedom Day is celebrated every year on 3 May worldwide. It is an opportunity to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Finnish parliamentary election, 2011 will be held in Finland on 17 April 2011 with advance voting between 6 and 12 April 2011. All 200 seats of the parliament are open for election.

On November 2010, there were 17 parties registered. Eight of the parties are represented in the current parliament: Centre Party, National Coalition Party, Social Democrats, Left Alliance, Green League, Christian Democrats, Swedish People's Party, and True Finns. Nine of the registered parties do not have presentation in the parliament before the elections: Communist Party of Finland, Pensioners' Party of Finland, Communist Workers' Party – For Peace and Socialism, Workers Party of Finland, Finnish Independence Party, On Behalf of Poor People, Pirate Party, Change 2011, and Freedom Party.

Matti Vanhanen, the Prime Minister of Finland between June 2003 – June 2010, began to work as the Chief Executive of Finnish Family Firms Association and will not be participating in the elections.

The current Speaker Sauli Niinistö (National Coalition Party) will not be running for Parliament, despite receiving a record number of votes in the 2007 election. It is anticipated that he will be the National Coalition Party's presidential candidate in 2012.

Also the following ex-ministers sitting in the current Parliament have announced that they will not be running in these elections: Matti Ahde, Antti Kalliomäki and Jacob Söderman from the Social Democrats; Tanja Karpela and Hannes Manninen from the Centre and Raimo Vistbacka from the True Finns.

Each Spring, thousands of government officials, the private sector, journalists, civil society representatives, and other interested observers gather in Washington DC for the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and IMF. At the heart of the gathering are meetings of the joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee and the IMF’s International Monetary and Financial Committee, which discuss progress on the work of the World Bank and IMF. Also featured are seminars, regional briefings, press conferences, and many other events focused on the global economy, international development, and the world’s financial markets.

A presidential election is to be held in Nigeria on 9 April 2011. The election follows controversy as to whether a Muslim or Christian should be allowed to become president given the tradition of rotating the top office between the regions and following the death of Umaru Yar'Adua, who was a Muslim, and Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian, assuming the interim presidency.

Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan is currently the President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). On 13 January 2010, a federal court handed him the power to carry out state affairs while President Umaru Yar'Adua received medical treatment in a Saudi Arabian hospital. A motion from the Nigerian Senate on 9 February 2010 confirmed these powers to act as President. On 24 February 2010 Yar'Adua returned to Nigeria, but Jonathan continued as acting president. Upon Yar'Adua's death on 5 May 2010, Jonathan succeeded to the Presidency, taking the oath of office on 6 May 2010.

The Peruvian general election of 2011 is scheduled to take place on April 10, 2011. The election will determine the successor to Alan Garcia, as well as 130 members of Congress and 5 members of the Andean Parliament. The winners will be sworn in on July 28, 2011.

After the regime of Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) Peruvian politics has been dominated by several political parties, covering the whole political spectrum.

EU ministers responsible for Economic and Financial Affairs will meet informally in Hungary.

The Economic and Financial Affairs Council is commonly known as the ECOFIN Council, or simply 'ECOFIN' and is composed of the Economics and Finance Ministers of the Member States, as well as Budget Ministers when budgetary issues are discussed. It meets once a month.

The ECOFIN Council covers EU policy in a number of areas including: economic policy coordination, economic surveillance, monitoring of Member States' budgetary policy and public finances, the euro (legal, practical and international aspects), financial markets and capital movements and economic relations with third countries. It decides mainly by qualified majority, in consultation or codecision with the European Parliament, with the exception of fiscal matters which are decided by unanimity.

In late March or early April of each year, the Boards of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) hold their Annual Meeting in one of the Bank's member countries. This official gathering is a forum for discussion among the institution's Governors, most of whom are Ministers of Finance, Presidents of Central Banks, or other high level authorities of the member countries. Representatives of multilateral financial institutions, development agencies, and private banks also attend.

The European Council gathers together the Heads of State or Government of the Member States of the European Union and the President of the Commission. It will meet in Brussels.

The European Council meets at least once every six months under the chairmanship of the Head of State or Government of the Member State which holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which rotates twice a year. In practice, the European Council meets at least four times a year, and special European Councils are also organised.

The objective of World Water Day 2011 is to focus international attention on the impact of rapid urban population growth, industrialization and uncertainties caused by climate change, conflicts and natural disasters on urban water systems.

This year’s theme, Water for cities: responding to the urban challenge, aims to spotlight and encourage governments, organizations, communities, and individuals to actively engage in addressing the challenge of urban water management.

The Central African Republic will hold a second round of elections. The results of the first round held on 23 January gave victory to President François Bozize, with 66 per cent of the votes. Several irregularities were reported, such as ballot-box stuffing and the disappearance of ballot boxes. Some opposition candidates, including Martin Ziguélé and Emile Gros Nakombo, cried foul. Central African Republic's main opposition coalition said it will boycott the second round in protest against what it considers fraudulent presidential elections.

Central African Republic is rich in diamonds, uranium and gold but instability and isolation, with roads often crumbling not far outside the capital, have discouraged investment.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces that now controls Egypt asked a panel of experts to suggest constitutional amendments that produce democratic reforms. On 19 March, a national referendum will be held on these constitutional changes. Polls will be open from 8 am until 7 pm.

One of the main constitutional amendments suggests that the president only be allowed to serve two four-year terms, instead of unlimited six-year periods. In addition, the amendments would also reinstate judicial oversight of elections.

The Economic and Financial Affairs Council or Ecofin Council, is composed of the Economics and Finance Ministers of the Member States, as well as Budget Ministers. It meets once a month and they discuss budgetary issues. The Ecofin Council covers EU policy in a number of areas including: economic policy coordination, economic surveillance, monitoring of Member States' budgetary policy and public finances, the euro (legal, practical and international aspects), financial markets and capital movements and economic relations with third countries. It decides mainly by qualified majority, in consultation or codecision with the European Parliament, with the exception of fiscal matters which are decided by unanimity.

Every year the European Union dedicates a Memorial Day to the victims of terrorist attacks to express solidarity towards the victims’ families. This day also serves to highlight the importance of civil mobilization against terrorism to guarantee freedom and security for all. The 11 March date was chosen as it marks the anniversary of the 2004 terrorist attacks in Madrid, in which 192 people died and 1.893 were injured.

EU heads of state and government will gather in Brussels in a extraordinary summit to discuss the crisis in Libya and the rest of Northern Africa. EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy will make proposals on the strategic lines of the European Union’s response to developments in Libya and in the southern neighborhood. At the same time, high representative Catherine Ashton will present a report on transition and transformation in these states. The extraordinary meeting will be held at 11:30 in the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels, a few hours before the mini-summit on joint economic governance.

The 17 euro-using countries will hold a mini-summit on joint economic governance. Euro zone leaders will discuss ways to boost competitiveness in order to prevent any new debt crisis from rocking the euro. The heads of state or government of the euro area are also expected to debate on how to strengthen coordination of national economic policies and to decide the size, shape and scope of a permanent debt recue fund for the euro zone. This summit will take place on the same day as the extraordinary meeting on Libya and surroundings. The group-of-17 meeting is a German initiative to get weaker euro-members to sign up to a legally-binding German model of fiscal discipline in what could be giant leap forward in the history of EU integration. Berlin has rejected public calls by non-euro countries, primarily Poland, to let them take part.

2011 marks the 100th anniversary of the International Women’s Day. This year’s official theme is "Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women". It is also the first International Women’s Day for UN Women, an entity created by the United Nations General Assembly on 2 July 2010.

Estonia elects a legislature on the national level. The Riigikogu has 101 members, elected for a four year term by proportional representation. A head of state - the president - is elected for a five year term by parliament (1st-3rd round) or an electoral college (4th and subsequent rounds).

Estonia has a multi-party system, with numerous parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments.

The Eurogroup, composed of the Member States whose currency is the euro, meets normally the day before the Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting and deals with issues relating to the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).

It is an informal body which is not a configuration of the Council. President of the Eurogrup: Jean-Claude Juncker

Final EDC 2020 event to present results of three years of research on the impact of new actors in international development, energy security democracy and political development and climate change on European Development Cooperation.
EADI announces the final conference of the European Development Cooperation to 2020 project (EDC 2020). The conference will examine the current opportunities and challenges for European development cooperation (European Union and its member states). One can expect that the EU’s and member states’ approach to poverty and ‘traditional development’ is changing. Aid and development policy will be increasingly integrated in ‘foreign policy’.

In this context, lead researchers from the EDC 2020 project will present the results of three years of research on three game changers for European Development Cooperation: (i) New Actors, (ii) Energy and (iii) Climate change. They will engage with key European policy makers in a debate on the following questions:What are the key challenges for European development cooperation?
How does the Lisbon Treaty reshape European development cooperation?
What should be the EU development policy objectives in the next decade?
How can European Development Cooperation help shape Europe’s role on the global stage?

The European Council gathers together the Heads of State or Government of the Member States of the European Union and the President of the Commission. It will meet for the first time under the Hungarian Presidency on 4 February in Brussels.

The European Council meets at least once every six months under the chairmanship of the Head of State or Government of the Member State which holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which rotates twice a year. In practice, the European Council meets at least four times a year, and special European Councils are also organised.

The Republic of Niger will hold a presidential and parliamentary elections on 31 January 2011. The first round was to be held on January 3 and the second round on January 31, but those dates were postponed to 31 January 2011 (together with the parliamentary elections) and 12 March 2011. The election follows a military coup in February 2010 ousting President Mamadou Tandja and the subsequent dissolution of the National Assembly in February 2010.

The Annual Meeting 2011 will be particularly important as the Forum rethinks how to best achieve its mission. Improving the state of the world is increasingly important in a world still recovering from the recent financial crisis. The Meeting’s programme will concentrate on the important question of how to achieve this.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a Geneva-based non-profit foundation best known for its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, which brings together top business leaders, international political leaders, selected intellectuals and journalists to discuss the most pressing issues facing the world, including health and the environment. Beside meetings, the WEF produces a series of research reports and engages its members in sector specific initiatives. WEF also organizes the "Annual Meeting of the New Champions" in China and a series of regional meetings throughout the year.

The African Union (abbreviated AU in English, and UA in its other official languages) is a union consisting of 53 African states. The only African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states. The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

2011 Theme of the Summit: "Towards Greater Unity and Integration through Shared Values".

The 2011 Portuguese presidential election will be held on January 23, 2011.

According to the Portuguese Constitution, to be elected, a candidate needs a majority (50% + 1). If no candidate gets this majority there will take place a second round between the two most voted candidates.

Aníbal Cavaco Silva; President since 2006, eligible for a second term supported by the Social Democratic Party, the People´s Party and the Hope for Portugal Movement.

Manuel Alegre; supported by the Socialist Party, the Left Bloc and the Democratic Party of the Atlantic.

Fernando Nobre; independent.

José Pinto Coelho; supported by the National Renovator Party.

Defensor de Moura; member of the Socialist Party running as an independent.

Francisco Lopes; supported by Communist Party and by the Ecologist Party "The Greens".

A presidential and parliamentary election is scheduled in the Central African Republic on 23 January 2011 after having been postponed numerous times. President François Bozizé is standing for re-election to a second term. The organization of the election has been plagued by difficulties, and the opposition, feeling that the proper conditions for an election do not exist, has continually demanded its postponement.

The Economic and Financial Affairs Council is commonly known as the Ecofin Council, or simply 'Ecofin' and is composed of the Economics and Finance Ministers of the Member States, as well as Budget Ministers when budgetary issues are discussed. It meets once a month.

The Ecofin Council covers EU policy in a number of areas including: economic policy coordination, economic surveillance, monitoring of Member States' budgetary policy and public finances, the euro (legal, practical and international aspects), financial markets and capital movements and economic relations with third countries. It decides mainly by qualified majority, in consultation or codecision with the European Parliament, with the exception of fiscal matters which are decided by unanimity.

The Ecofin Council also prepares and adopts every year, together with the European Parliament, the budget of the European Union which is about 100 billion euros.

Southern Sudan will hold an a referendum on whether or not it should remain as a part of Sudan on 9 January 2011. This is part of the 2005 Naivasha Agreement between the Khartoum central government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M). A simultaneous referendum will be held in Abyei on whether to become part of Southern Sudan.

The EU Finance Ministers, meeting within the Ecofin Council on 13 July, gave their final go‑ahead for Estonia to change over to the European currency on 1 January 2011. The Council also set the conversion rate against the euro at 15,6466 Estonian kroonid.

Estonia thus becomes the seventeenth Member State to use the euro. The last country to join the euro area before Estonia was Slovakia in 2009.

In order to adopt the European currency, a Member State has to fulfil several conditions; it must satisfy the convergence criteria concerning price stability, public deficit and public debt, exchange‑rate stability and long-term interest rates. The Heads of State and Government of the Union, meeting within the European Council on 17 June, had already welcomed the fact that Estonia complied with all these criteria.

Also on 1 January 2011, Estonian euro banknotes and coins will be introduced.

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FRIDE ceased its think tank activities on 31st December 2015 for economic reasons. The Board of Trustees had to take this difficult decision since,
despite many efforts to diversify its funding sources, FRIDE cannot sustain its think tank operations with a view to 2016 and beyond.

Established in 1999, FRIDE has made a major contribution to shape debate on Europe’s external activities in an increasingly challenging international environment.
It has covered issues ranging from democracy and human rights to sustainable development, new approaches to multilateral cooperation and security affairs.
FRIDE’s long-standing focus on the extended neighbourhood of the European Union proves today all the more relevant given widespread turbulence in the region.
FRIDE’s emphasis on the importance of the values framing Europe’s external activities is central to current political debates in Europe and beyond.
This shows the need for continued engagement in the pursuit of a common European foreign policy that is both effective and informed by the core values of European integration.

The Board wishes to thank Diego Hidalgo, FRIDE’s founder, for his tireless commitment and very generous support for many years.
The Board also wishes to thank FRIDE’s dedicated staff, the members of the Board and the Advisory Committee for their contribution in making FRIDE
one of the top foreign policy think tanks in Europe. We are very grateful to all those who have supported FRIDE’s work and projects over the years
and we thank the many partners from all parts of the world who have worked with FRIDE on joint initiatives. We hope that FRIDE’s extensive input to
the debate on Europe in the world will continue to inform thinking and action at a very critical time for Europe’s future.